Entrepreneurship

Mind Mapping
Prof. Dr. Arthur Sybrandy
Cairo, Egypt
January 2007
Mind Mapping
– Mind mapping is a graphical technique developed by Tony Buzan
in the late 1960s.
– Mind mapping is a powerful technique allowing you to make the
best use of your brain power.
– It is designed to improve thinking, learning, and creativity
– The technique uses a full range of cortical skills:
• Words
• Images
• Numbers
• Logic
• Rhythms
• Colors
• Spatial awareness
Dr. A. Sybrandy
Mind Mapping
– Unlike the outlining methods you learned in high school,
mind mapping doesn't constrain your creative inclinations
by requiring you to think sequentially.
– It has Four important characteristics:
1. The subject is represented by a central image.
2. The main themes of the subject radiate from the central image as
main branches.
3. Minor themes are linked to the main themes.
4. All the branches are connected forming a nodal structure.
– The pictures and their structure allows the right half of the brain
to be better utilized.
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Mind Mapping Structure
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Mind Mapping Structure - Levels
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The Laws of Mind Mapping
– Start to draw in the center of a blank, unlined page of
paper, with an image of the desired topic, using at least
three colors.
– Use images, symbols, codes and dimension throughout
your Mind Map.
– Select key words and print - using capitals or lower case
letters.
– Each word/image must stand alone, on its own line.
– The lines must be connected, starting from the central
image. In the center, the lines are thicker, organic and
flowing, becoming thinner as they radiate outwards.
Dr. A. Sybrandy
The Laws of Mind Mapping
– Make the lines the same length as the word/image.
– Use colors - your own code - throughout the Mind Map.
– Develop your own personal style of Mind Mapping.
– Use emphasis and show associations between different
related topics in your Mind Map.
– Keep the Mind Map clear by using numerical order or
outlines to surround your branches.
Dr. A. Sybrandy
How to Mind Map
– Place a large white sheet of paper horizontally, or use a Mind Map
pad.
– Gather a selection of colored pens, ranging from thin nib to
highlighter.
– Select the topic, problem or subject to be Mind Mapped. This will
be the basis of your central image.
– Gather any materials, research or additional information that is
needed, so that you have all the facts at your fingertips. Now
start to draw in the centre of your page.
– Start in the centre with an unframed image - approximately 1½
inches (3cm) high and wide for A4 and 4 inches (10cm) for A3.
– Use dimension, expression and at least three colors in the
central image in order to attract attention and aid memory.
Dr. A. Sybrandy
How to Mind Map
1. Make the branches closest to the centre thick, attached to the
image, and 'wavy' (organic). Place the Basic Ordering Ideas
(BOIs) or chapter headings on those branches.
2. Branch thinner lines off the end of the appropriate BOI in order to
hold supporting data.
3. Use images wherever you find it is possible.
4. The image or word should always sit on a line of the same length.
5. Use different colors as your own special code to show people,
places, topics, themes, dates and to make the Mind Map more
attractive visually.
6. Capture all your ideas, or those that others have contributed, then
edit, reorganize, make more beautiful, elaborate, or clarify as a
second and yet further advanced stage of thinking.
Dr. A. Sybrandy
Uses and Benefits of Mind Mapping
– Learning
• Reduce those 'tons of work'. Feel good about study, review and
exams. Develop confidence in your learning abilities.
– Overviewing
• See the whole picture, the global overview, at once. Understand the
links and connections.
– Concentrating
• Focus on the task for better results.
– Memorizing
• Easy recall. 'See' the information in your mind's eye.
– Organizing
• Parties, holidays, projects, etc. Make it make sense to you.
Dr. A. Sybrandy
Uses and Benefits of Mind Mapping
– Presenting
• Speeches become clear, relaxed and alive. You can be at
your best.
– Communicating
• Communicate in all forms with clarity and conciseness.
– Planning
• Orchestrate all aspects, from beginning to end, on one piece
of paper.
– Meetings
• From planning to agenda, chairing, taking the minutes ...
these jobs can be completed with speed and efficiency.
– Training
• From preparation to presentation, make the job easier.
Dr. A. Sybrandy
Uses and Benefits of Mind Mapping
– Thinking
• The Mind Map will become a concrete record of your thoughts at
any stage of the process.
– Negotiating
• All the issues, your position and maneuverability on one sheet.
– Brain Blooming
• The new brain-storming, in which more thoughts are generated and
appropriately assessed. It is often assumed that the greater the
quantity of ideas generated, the more the quality declines. In fact,
the reverse is true. The more you generate ideas and the greater the
quantity, the more the potential quality increases. This is a key lesson
in understanding the nature of your own creativity.
– Lectures
• When you attend a lecture, use a Mind Map to keep a vivid visual
memento of it.
Dr. A. Sybrandy
More Uses of Mind Mapping
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MindMapper Software Output Example
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Example Hand Drawn Mindmap
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MindMapper Software Output Example
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MindManager Software Output Example
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Automatically Generated PowerPoint
MindManager for Brainstorming
Generated from the previous slide
Dr. A. Sybrandy